Having battled through a blustery evening to reach a carol concert in the candle-lit calm of Dorchester Abbey, it was good to hear John Betjeman's words about "branches bending to the gale". His poem, Advent 1955, was delivered in the sonorous tones of actor Robert Hardy, whose voice had no trouble filling the historic abbey.

Mr Hardy and Imogen Stubbs gave a well-chosen series of readings, interspersed by music from New College Choir, for The Coming of Christmas, a celebration of Christmas in words and music held annually in aid of the Home Farm Trust. Following the arrival of the Princess Royal, the evening opened with the treble sound of Once in Royal David's City. But after that, the line-up was far from traditional.

Stubbs's voice was ideally suited to a reading from The Diary of a Provincial Lady, which I had dismissed as nostalgic tripe, but - judging from this exerpt - is told with a keen eye and ascerbic wit. I also enjoyed her rendering of Helen Dunmore's The Thorn and Wendy Cope's This Christmas Life, while Hardy was in his element reading Oliver Pritchett's version of Wenceslas: The Inside Story.

The musical items were equally varied, with modern carols such as Richard Rodney Bennett's Out of Your Sleep joining old favourites, plus two chances for audience participation.

d=3,3,1The choir went a bit rock 'n' roll with Peter Gritton's Follow That Star, but conductor Edward Higginbottom treated us to a slow, but traditional, arrangement of the Rocking Carol, while Gustav Holst's Personent Hodie was handled with assurance and clarity. We were told it was the first public airing for the abbey's refurbished organ, and at first Steven Grahl's playing threatened to overwhelm the choir. But soon the singing shone through without distraction, the sublime sound enhanced by the abbey's acoustics. I particularly enjoyed O magnum mysterium, by Morten Lauridsen, and Rachmaninov's Bogoroditsye Dyevo (Rejoice O Virgin!) - it was difficult to believe that such small boys could produce such a powerful sound - while Rachmaninov's Magnificat gave some young soloists a chance to shine.